Arab League representatives meet in Cairo to address Gaza humanitarian crisis

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, during an extraordinary Arab foreign ministers meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.   -  
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Representatives of the Arab League convened in Cairo on Monday for an emergency meeting to address the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the escalating humanitarian crisis in the region.

As a result of the conflict, approximately 85% of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes, seeking shelter from Israel's continued strikes on the besieged enclave.

Moroccan Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Mohamed Ait Ouali, emphasized the need to exert more pressure on the international community to achieve a cease-fire

“The aggravation of the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip and the excess of targeting civilians questions the international community, especially the vital powers and the Security Council as the international mechanism responsible for maintaining security and stability in the world to take a binding decision of immediate and sustainable ceasefire and to allow the flow of international aid to the people in Gaza as an urgent priority,” said the Moroccan representative.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, Israel's offensive has resulted in the death of over 25,000 Palestinians and left more than 60,000 wounded.

U.N. officials report that one in four people in Gaza is facing starvation due to the fighting and Israeli restrictions, which hinder the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid.

“Despite the state of division among the security council and its inability to talk in a united voice, this shouldn’t stop us continuing to apply more diplomatic, political and legal pressure to stop the tragedy that the Palestinian people are going through,” added Mr. Mohamed Ait Ouali.

The current conflict between Israel and Hamas, the fifth and most deadly to date, originated when Palestinian militants breached Israel's defences, causing devastation in several nearby communities. The toll includes approximately 1,200 casualties, predominantly civilians, and around 250 people taken hostage.

Reports from medics in the southern city of Khan Yunis describe heavy fighting, with dozens dead and wounded brought to the already overwhelmed Nasser Hospital. Families are observed fleeing south to areas already crowded with hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The Israeli military claims to have killed approximately 9,000 militants, without providing evidence, and attributes the high civilian death toll to Hamas, alleging that it positions fighters, tunnels, and other militant infrastructure in densely populated residential areas.

U.N. officials report that one in four people in Gaza is facing starvation due to the fighting and Israeli restrictions, which hinder the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid.

The conflict has heightened tensions across the region, with Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen launching attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets.

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